Upendi
by Razzella
Summary: ["It's a long ways down off of lovers leap–"] Four unsuspecting victims of a startling late night visit lands them in the middle of a storm beyond their control. Follow along with these four girls as they try to find their way home; keep from harming the balance that holds the worlds together. ["–but falling's half the fun!"]
1. Prologue

Ughuu, you guys, there are way too many ideas swirling around in my head. Its like every time I read a story there is an immediate: "OH THAT GIVES ME AN IDEA." and a few ratta-tat-tats' later I have eight different stories pouring from my pores. FORGIVE ME. The beginning is awkward, but I promise the next few bits will be better. This is one of those 'ohgod, where do I start?' things SO BEAR WITH ME.

Read, review, etc.

- Razz

* * *

Cassie blinked awake slowly, not enjoying the ominous buzzing her TV was making to inform her that the movie was over. Short blond hair stuck to her face as she rubbed her eyes, glancing to see her two companions dead asleep; getting up and quietly turning off the television. She gathered all the food as she glanced to the clock – 2:00 AM. With a soft groan she found a place for it other than the bed before crawling into it again. The darkness engulfed her as she clicked off the lamp and glanced at her slightly homosexual looking friends. Aaryn was clinging to the darker female for dear life – her legs knitted with the other female and her face buried in her neck. Destiny had her arms around Aaryns' waist loosely though her face was buried in her friends red hair. As the youngest of the group crawled into bed again they shifted enough to make room; Aaryn tugged her into their love-fest as she rolled over onto her back and tossed her legs out to catch her own.

"Aaryn." Cassie groaned under her breath, untangling the sleeping female with a huff. Of course, that would be when her dog decided to have a barking contest with the neighbors. Green eyes narrowed dangerously, scowling at the animal but trying to just wait out the noise. Their little friend was all the way downstairs, and she really was not in the mood to get up and bicker with the creature. Unfortunately, it had no intention of shutting up, so she once again rolled out of bed to go intimidate the thing into silence after a silent battle with clingy-Aaryn. Destiny grumbled something in her sleep as the quiet girl padded down the stairs as quietly as she could manage. The dog apparently sensed her presence and stopped yapping long enough to look at her proudly, wagging its tail as if it wasn't the most annoying creature she'd been tricked into buying.

"Seriously, Dinah? It is two o'clock in the morning, just shut up!" Cassie chided the Pomeranian as she approached it, lifting it into her arms with a defeated sigh. In return for her compliance to the dogs wishes, she got a firm lick on the cheek before there was a soft, almost completely silent sound. Everything went rigid as she tried to focus her eyes into the darkness – only to realize she really shouldn't have when she confirmed there was indeed another figure to be found there. Alarm made her heartbeat sputter as she feigned calm, walking back up to her room with a bit stiffer footsteps. When she safely reached the door, she dropped the dog and locked the door as her façade dropped.

"Aaryn, wake up." Cassie ordered with a kick to Destinys side, effectively jolting them back to the waking world.

"What the fuck?" Destiny demanded, eyeing her with obvious irritation.

"Someone's in the house, guys." The hiss was quiet and desperate, earning their full attention as she quietly tried to find her cell phone in the darkness.

"We need to get out of the house." As predicted, Aaryns' knowledge knew no bounds when it came to safety. On instinct, everyone obeyed the females order and filed over to the window, looking at the fall with discomfort. In another breath hasty footsteps were coming up the stairs and in a last-ditch effort they flung the window open and dived under the bed. Aaryn glared daggers at the sandaled feet as they kicked down the door – Cecil was going to be _pissed _– before her fingers covered her mouth in a weak attempt to hide her heavy breathing. Cassie regretted turning off the television as her heart pounded in her ears; weakly grasping at Destinys hand for some kind of reassurance. The tan girl glanced her way and nodded a bit, though her brown eyes held nothing but panic under her cool expression.

"Did they go out the fucking window? Damnit, this fucking sucks." Their expressions fell blank before Aaryn slowly turned her head to gaze at them with a face serene of all panic. Destiny immediately sensed her panic and put a finger to her lips; Aaryn was about to scream bloody murder that she recognized that voice. Cassies frantic eyes confirmed that she too recognized the familiar tone, though logic concluded the similarity was just out of random.

"They're still in the room, Hidan, calm down." Aaryns face was turning red from the panic that had seized her; Cassie put a hand over her mouth gently.

"Then lets fucking grab them!"

As if on cue, the bed flipped dramatically to reveal a very familiar shark-like male and Destiny was the one to release a startled cry as they all scrambled to their feet in a pathetic attempt to escape. Blue arms grabbed two while Aaryn did little to fight off Hidan in her utter _terror _with this entire situation. Sulking seemed to fit them more as they were dragged back down the stairs; unusually silent from the shock of the evenings events.

"Got 'em!" Kisame cheered pleasantly as he plopped them on the couch, Hidan shoving Aaryn between the other two with less-than-gentleness.

"Where are we?" This voice was smooth – almost coaxing had it not been so cold. The girls glanced at each other worriedly, emerald meeting blue before blue met brown and brown met green.

"Houston." Destiny spoke coolly despite her discomfort, trying not to fidget as the lights came on suddenly to reveal – much to their absolute _horror_ – a mass of dark cloaks and red clouds. For the moment, they were grateful for not fainting on the spot.

"I'm fucking dreaming." Aaryn spit out under her breath, head dropping into her hands as Cassie stared at the group numbly. This was usually a fangirls dream come true but _the Akatsuki was full of murderous criminals that were now standing IN. THEIR. HOUSE._

"If you were dreaming there'd be more sex—"

"Stop. Serious situation, you dumb fucks." Cassie finally hissed, ignoring the curious expressions she got from the less stoic members.

"You're in the United States of America – Southeast Texas, to be exact. Houston, Texas." The leader – Pein. PEIN WAS IN THEIR HOUSE. – cocked an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing about it. It was obvious they weren't going to believe them, but at the moment there was nothing they could do to convince them.

"Who are you?" He tried again.

"I'm Destiny, this is Aaryn, and this is Cassie." She gestured accordingly before adding: "Cassie is a crybaby and Aaryn is our resident creep; we have another friend who works nights that will be home any minute and her name is Cecil. She's… the leader of our little group." Aaryn gaped at Destiny, wanting to beat her in the head for throwing Cecil under the bus and partially grateful it wasn't her.

"Leader?" Pein glanced over only to realize Itachi was questioning them and not vying for his attention.

"Cecil is the one who keeps us from murdering each other; she makes the money. So yes, she is the leader–" Aaryn interrupted under her breath with a: 'more like bitchy mother.' "Though she is also a crybaby and might panic to find so many strangers here in the middle of the night."

"Well we'll wait until this girl returns then." Leader said nonchalantly as the other two females glared daggers.

"Seriously, Destiny, what the fuck? Don't drag Cecil into this!" Aaryn growled, shoving her.

"She was going to get dragged into it anyhow, she had to come home."

"And why are you tossing her under the bus? You know she's going to pass out as soon as any of them glance at her!" Cassie added, pouting at the tanner female who rolled her eyes.

"I'm surprised Aaryn didn't considering she got that stupid symbol tattooed on her—"

They were interrupted by the door coming open abruptly, a raven-haired girl automatically tossing her bag onto the loveseat before noticing their company. Her face was unreadable at first, but it only took seconds for it to flicker between shock and horror; then into a twisted sort of delight before horror took back over. Destiny snickered.

"Can someone explain what's going on, please?" Cecil spoke quietly, tearing her gaze away from the cloaked men to stare at her friends.

"These guys popped up and started asking where they were; scared us all half to death before tossing us down for some interrogation or something." Aaryn supplied as Cecils face began to darken in shade; a look of panic appearing on her face.

"You're their leader?" Pein asked with a bored tone in his voice and her blue eyes landed on him with some obvious effort not to show her horror.

"Yep!" The other three chirped in unison and Cecil felt her eyebrow twitch – since when did any of them listen to her? How could she be the leader of three brats that didn't listen to her?!

"Do you know who we are?" A female voice spoke up and Cecil visibly relaxed, though she eyed her comrades from the corner of her eye. All escape attempts would be futile, she knew, but it was still tempting to try and run. She ran pale fingers through her dark hair, sighing a bit to herself.

"No, I don't know who you are." The younger woman lied softly and the others noted that they were to play dumb from that moment on. "But I would like to know that – and why you're in my house at three in the morning." She did her best to sound demanding, but knew it came out a bit too feeble to show any kind of intimidation. Frankly, she wanted to cry and scream bloody murder – or squeal and tackle one of them like the fangirl she pretended not to be.

"We're the Akatsuki," Pein spoke up, apparently not minding speaking to her now that it had been established she was in charge. Her friends were bitches. "We don't know how or why we got here – care to fill us in?"

"I don't know how you got here; I don't even know who you are. But you're welcome to continue questioning us if you feel the need." Of course they were – they would do it anyway. This was just their attempt at being polite to the young women before beating it out of them.

Before they even had time to contemplate the idea, all three girls were whisked away by a different pair of men – leaving Cecil standing awkwardly with the leader and his own partner.

* * *

DESTINY

* * *

Destiny found herself whisked away by Kisame and Itachi to be questioned, which left her awkwardly hanging over Kisames' shoulder. They tossed her into a chair – they had managed to set up their interrogation room in the dining room – and Itachi towered over her menacingly.

"Where are we?"

"Houston, Texas."

"Where is that?"

"The United States."

"What country?"

"The United states is a country."

Itachi seemed irritated behind his mask of calm, but Kisame chuckled in the background. Apparently they still believed they were liars, which only succeeded in frustrating the female. She was not known for lying; had little skill in it as it were. It was more than slightly awkward to glare at them however, because Itachi had a glare that could freeze hell.

"I can get you a map or something if you don't believe me."

* * *

AARYN

* * *

Her gaze was on Hidan with well-contained fear as the pair eyed her in a condescending fashion. So maybe she wasn't the smartest of the group – but she knew better than to pick a fight with immortals. Particularly _sexy_ immortals, for that matter; sexy immortals that were in her bedroom.

"Are you a ninja?" Kakuzu was the one to question her after a bit of bickering between the pair, Hidan settled for sneering at her in the background.

"No, I'm not. Nobody here – and by here I mean this world – is a ninja." This was true to some extent; their version of a ninja against Earths would end up with Earth getting a lot of people slaughtered. They could technically take over this world with no problems, come to think of it. She hoped they didn't realize this.

"So then I assume you can't use ninjutsu?"

"What's ninjutsu?" Before the words were even fully out of her mouth Hidan snorted with obvious disbelief. Her eyes narrowed a bit, huffing in distaste before Kakuzu detached his arm – earning an alarmed, strangled sound to escape her throat as it shot across the room to grab an empty glass that had been sitting on her nightstand. When the black tendrils vanished back into his skin she tried not to shake, though she was clearly very frightened of it. Aaryn hadn't expected him to just get all flashy with his amazing powers – she had seen it a million and one times but in real life it was much more intimidating.

"No, we can't use ninjutsu."

* * *

CASSIE

* * *

Luckily for the crybaby of the group, Deidara and Tobi seemed to be much more relaxed than the others, which was a secret blessing from God. She knew her devotion would pay off some day, and silently thanked him before catching Deidaras grin. _I might need to retract that thank you._

"So your attic isn't very interesting, yeah." He commented lazily, Tobi amusing himself with their old toys and other things. Cassies face tinted pink but she didn't respond, shrugging her shoulders a bit; he cocked his visible eyebrow.

"Alright, we'll start easy," The blond girl eyes him warily. "Why are you dressed funny, un?" She blinked in surprise, glancing to look at her pajamas. They weren't anything special really – just a black tank top and some pink cotton shorts. Of course, then it occurred to her that ninja probably didn't wear things like this.

"You're dressed funny, around here. People would think you were crazy if you went out looking the way you do – no offense intended, I personally think it's pretty cool."

* * *

CECIL

* * *

Shockingly, this was the easiest interrogation she could have ever imagined of her beloved Akatsuki members. Cecil was sitting in the recliner, talking semi-pleasantly with Pein and Konan; had she not known better, she would have thought she was on a bad trip.

"You're welcome to stay here until everything gets sorted out; we will help you in any way we can." She said honestly, hands folded in her lap. "We aren't very useful as anything other than guides and maids, but we don't mind helping you around unfamiliar territory." Her tone was cheerful, though all three of them knew good and well she was pleading for their lives. It was pretty obvious with her overly hospitable nature and willingness to comply – but it was irrelevant. They were outmatched on their own turf, and the police would just get themselves killed.

"I think it's a good idea, Leader-sama." Konan commented stoically, nodding her head a bit. "We don't know where we are or how we got here; it couldn't hurt to have assistance from the natives." Pein was thinking silently, eyes never straying from Cecils nervous fidgeting.

"Zetsu, tell the others to return here."

* * *

Two out of the four girls looked a bit shaken up, but it was all fixed when they practically threw themselves into Cecils lap on the recliner. The dark-haired female popped them all on the head as they settled themselves in the single space comfortably before watching their captors talk amongst themselves.

"What have you found?"

"They weren't lying about our location – she has given us a map." Itachi said dully as he handed over the map book, Destiny smirking in triumph at having proved her legitimacy. Cecil subconsciously ruffled her hair in a 'yay, you extended our lifespan' kind of way, though her attention never left Pein.

"Apparently we're sticking out like sore thumbs, yeah." Deidara commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "We'll need to disguise ourselves or we'll get unwanted attention from the natives." Of course that was probably obvious to them all from their reputation, but it was information none the less.

"They can't use ninjutsu." Kakuzu spoke with an equally bored tone, though his held underlying annoyance from Hidans' outburst of: "She looked like she was going to fucking implode when Kakuzu demonstrated; she was scared shitless." Aaryn blushed bright crimson and looked to Cassie for comfort, who patted her head lightly upon being snuggled on.

"It appears as though we're going to be staying here for the moment," Pein finally said, done with whatever thought had invaded his mind. "Cecil has offered to assist us in our endeavors; we will not harm them for the time being." Her female companions gazed at her with mild alarm and Cecil shrugged in a 'like I had any choice' kind of way.

"There are five rooms in this house," Cecil said slowly, glancing at the clock to note it was almost five in the morning now. "And these three will stay in mine with me. The attic has a few mattresses; the girls will show you around." Cecil tossed them to the dogs before skulking away to try and catch a few hours of sleep before she was required to associate with the dangerous criminals in her home.

"Bitch." Aaryn grumbled under her breath before the trio turned to their new housemates. "Well, uhm, what should we call ya'll?" She asked hesitantly, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. They knew exactly who they were, but since they were pretending to be oblivious it would probably be better for them to introduce themselves. Once unnecessary introductions were done, the three nervous females escorted the men through Cecils home awkwardly.

"This is the kitchen; Cecil usually makes breakfast and lunch, but otherwise you can just eat whatever." Destiny waved to gesture before leading them down the hall to three of the bedrooms on this floor and waving to them awkwardly.

"These are guest rooms; the ones upstairs are actually—"

"WHICH ONE OF THEM BROKE MY DOOR?!" Cecil howled down the stairs and Cassie winced at her sisters rare show of anger.

"Kisame!"

"… son of a bitch."

A couple loud thuds later showed that she had submitted to the fact she wouldn't be able to take vengeance and so Destiny continued. "We three usually sleep down here, but you guys can sort out who gets them; Cecils' room and then her 'study' are upstairs." The brown eyed girl put quotations when she said study, signifying her uncertainty of what to call it. It served as her music room, art room, work room, whatever room she needed at the time.

"The attic is up the stairs and you just pull down the second ladder." Cassie chirped helpfully, feeling a bit unsettled that the group of males weren't saying anything.

"I'm going to make breakfast since lazy ass is sleeping."

"She's not lazy, Aaryn, don't make me sic' her on you." Destiny chided but the females followed after her. Almost all of the group broke up to get some sleep for themselves, but a few followed after them curiously. Their presence was mildly disturbing as Aaryn glanced to them; digging in the fridge.

"Aren't ya'll tired?" Cassie hummed to Deidara curiously, then glanced over to Tobi.

"No, Deidara-senpai and Tobi are hungry." The masked male giggled, earning a bit of a smile before her eyes slithered over to Zetsu.

"We're also hungry. **Can we eat you?**" The blond coughed awkwardly, a faint blush coming to her face as she tried her hardest to ignore the comment. Not that he – they? – meant it sexually or that it was even remotely flattering but Cassie was a bit of a Zetsu fangirl deep, deep down. Much like Destiny had her little girl crush on Kisame; Aaryn to Hidan. It was just a matter of preference between the women. At least Cassie hadn't gotten any tattoos openly flaunting her favorite like _someone_ cooking them breakfast.

Speaking of tattoo, when Aaryn tugged her red hair into a ponytail to cook breakfast, there was a snort from the opposite end of the room. The symbol of Jashin was tattooed in black on the back of her neck – usually hidden by her long, blood-like hair – and she had apparently forgotten as much. She cocked an eyebrow over her shoulder, glancing at Kakuzu with a bit of annoyance, only to see Cassie pointing at her own neck while biting her lower lip.

"Oh – well shit, I completely forgot. Cats' out the bag, whoops."

Destiny rolled her eyes at Aaryns mocking smirk, unbothered by the fact everyone was eyeing her suspiciously. Once she finished making scrambled eggs and bacon she pulled biscuits out of the oven and set it out of the stove. Grabbing a plate and took off up the stairs without a word, ignoring the curious glance she got from her friends and captors.

"She's bringing it to Cecil." Cassie said helpfully as she made her own plate, shrugging.

"She makes you bring her food?" Zetsu questioned and Destiny smiled. "No, we just love Cecil. She took us in when we had nowhere else to go; we're grateful." Nodding in understanding the plant-like man went back to observing them awkwardly.

"What do you mean when you 'had nowhere else to go', yeah?" Deidara questioned after a moment, nibbling at his own food.

"Ah, well, I got kicked out a year ago." Destiny said slowly. "Cecil had just inherited this house from her grandmothers passing – she offered to let me stay until things cleared up. Except, well, things never really cleared up." She waved a hand, grinning a bit.

"Cassie ran away from home – that was a horrific experience for that poor girl, she'd never gotten in trouble enough to have to talk with the police – and hid out here. She's Cecils' little step-sister; their fathers an abusive asshole. I thought she was going to end the poor bastard when she saw how bruised up Cassie was. And, well, Aaryn is just her roommate from what I know. We didn't know each other before we all somehow ended up invading her home."

"Destiny!" Aaryn wailed as the female slung open Cecils' study door, screeching for the girls assistance. Destiny jogged up the stairs, coming into contact with a hysterical Aaryn and a fairly startled Cecil.

"What the hell, Aaryn?" She demanded irritably, pinching the bridge of her nose with only a little frustration. Only a little.

"Cecil is smoking again!" Aaryn pointed an accusing finger at their dark-haired host, who still looked shocked that they had yet again caught her. Destiny turned on their friend with a dark expression, holding out her hand irritably.

"Eh?" Cecil scoffed as she took another drag, sneering a bit before blowing smoke at them. Her plan worked as both females stumbled out of the room; Cecil chasing them with cigarette in hand.

"I don't want your cancer!" Aaryn screeched as they stumbled down the stairs, narrowly missing the shorter females leap to the last step as she grinned with unusual malice.

"And I didn't want to be raising three teenage girls at barely twenty, but look where we are now, mm?" Cecil countered as she blew another puff at them, earning a snarl from Destiny.

"I'm eighteen, Cee! Cassie is seventeen; Aaryn will be twenty in three months!" Destiny whined.

"But it didn't start out that way now did it? You moved in at seventeen, Cassie moved in with me at fifteen, and this asshole just stopped by and sat her ass down at eighteen. I've been taking care of you imbeciles since I was eighteen years old." Cecil groaned dramatically, and Aaryn giggled that the 'nasty, cancer infested oxygen' wasn't being pointed at her for the moment. Aaryn had been living with Cecil the longest, even before the girl inherited the house they were currently living in – and Cassie had chased after her older sister a few months before her fifteenth birthday. It occurred to Destiny that Cecil really had raised Cassie; she had literally been taking care of people her entire young adult life.

"I think you deserve a cigarette." Destiny commented abruptly, turning on her heel and returning to the table where she was questioned 'what the hell, un?' by a curious Deidara. Cecil smirked in triumph, raising an eyebrow at her oldest friend curiously.

"Anything else to try, Aaryn?" She mused before taking another drag. "Or are you going to try and make me stop?" The commented earned an irritated glare as she blew smoke out her nose, giggling at the other female playfully.

"I'm going to beat the dog shit out of you, is what I'm going to do. Flush those stupid things before you can't stop." Aaryn complained, huffing as she crossed her arms. Her darker friend quirked an eyebrow cautiously; about the time Hidan came around the corner. Before he could even open his mouth to make a sassy remark, Cecil was pounced by the pale red-head. Without even thinking the woman went with the backwards motion, putting her arms down to do a fairly ungraceful backflip. Hidan whistled as she landed, straddling Aaryn with a look that could only be described as: 'what the fuck are you doing?' She picked up her cigarette with a frown before returning it to her mouth, her friends dark blue eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Cecil…" She warned as the woman continued sitting on her, sneering at the feeble warning. "We're not doing this in the house." Aaryn gaped as the older female rolled off of her long enough to open the door invitingly.

"Hey, hey! Guys, knock it off!" Destiny whined from the table, eyeing them worriedly. "Cecil, you can smoke, you don't have to beat Aaryn—" The red haired woman's twitch of irritation made her shut her mouth with an audible snap.

"It's fine, Dessie, I'm not gonna hurt her too bad. We just have to re-establish who the alpha is."

"I'm telling Cassie!"

"Des, shuddup, Cass can't do shit anyway; her sisters secretly a homicidal bitch under her motherly facade."

"Aaryn that was low."

"What the fuck is going on?" Hidan finally asked no one in particular, throwing his hands in the air in defeat. Deidara looked similarly confused, though the other house guests who had seen their bickering looked bored with it. Excluding Tobi who was whining something about how 'friends shouldn't fight' with Destiny agreeing avidly.

"Well come on then, since your so fucking cocky today." Aaryn growled as her friend finished her cigarette and flicked the butt away lazily. The grin Cecil was wearing only succeeded in irritating her further, but she was unwilling to fall back into the girls trap and attack first.

"Says the one who stormed in on me working and tried to rip the cigarette out of my mouth." Her friend reminded, and won a blush from the offending female. Aaryns' fear with fighting Cecil stemmed from her friends obsession with martial arts; particularly her minor alterations to the things she observed that had served her well in inflicting pain. It reminded her of when they first met – and Cecil beat her into the ground for trying to bully Cassie. Oh, good memories.

"Hey, Aaryn." Cecil chimed, getting the females attention before her fist collided with her stomach; successfully bending the girl over enough to get a knee to the chin.

"Cecil, knock it off!" Destiny groaned from the door as her friends started their childish brawl. Aaryn groaned in turn, having the wind knocked out of her before she gripped the girl's wrist tightly and slung her to the ground. Clumsy as she was, Cecil yelped as she followed the motion and landed on her back, narrowly rolling away to miss her friends kick to the ribs.

"I thought you said you aren't ninja." Kakuzu commented as he looked over at the scene unfolding.

"We aren't, Cecil and Aaryn have a deep love-hate relationship that involves rivalry and Cecil beating sense into Aaryn every few weeks." Destiny commented dryly, rolling her eyes in unhidden irritation.

"Sounds familiar."

"What the fuck did you say, asswipe?"

It didn't take long for Cecil to overpower Aaryn – which was always the outcome of their bickering – and have her on the ground under her foot with a scowl. They glared at each other for a long moment, before Aaryn sighed and offered a defeated grin to the other girl.

"Alright, alright – you're such an asshole, Cee." Cecil giggled and offered a hand to the female before tugging her off the ground.

"You guys aren't very deadly, are you, un?" Deidara snickered from the door, eyeing the females with a bemused grin.

"We aren't S-Class criminals." Aaryn pointed out and earned a foot to the back of her knees, successfully dropping her again as she yelped in protest.

"How'd you know that?" Tobi asked a bit too observantly – too cheerfully at seven in the morning, too, _God_ - and Aaryn blinked in confusion before she paled.

"Someone's keeping secrets, un~" Deidara hummed with a sadistic smirk, disappearing back into the house as Destiny stared at them with wild eyes. Cecil glanced to the blond before following after him into the house; Aaryn cursed under her breath before pushing everyone back inside and locking the door behind them.

"We aren't keeping secrets – we have done nothing but tell you the truth." That was partially true, Cecil supposed as Cassie mumbled from the staircase. They were against trying to give them the upper hand in their own universe, after all. No matter how much the girls loved their favorite Akatsuki, they were unwilling to endanger their favorite characters over all. Excluding Cecil and Aaryn, whose favorites _were _the Akatsuki as a whole; they only picked their favorite 'good guys' to appease and chatter with the younger girls.

"You know more than you let on." Itachi commented stoically and the girls wondered at what point it was he decided to show up on the scene.

"Nothing we wouldn't be willing to share if you asked the right questions." Cecil stated simply and her friends glared daggers at her. _They _had problems sharing information with these guys, didn't that matter to her? They didn't want to endanger their characters more than they already were!

"Or we could just torture it out of you, yeah!" Deidara said cheerfully, smirking as he leaned against the wall closest to Cassie – who was still standing awkwardly on the stairs.

"We can't just tell you things." Cecil said stiffly, sighing. "You have to ask." It was implied that there was some higher power preventing it, but the females all knew she was really just playing for time. They were about to get their asses handed to them on a platter for protecting Cassie and Destinys favorite men. What a bittersweet notion.

"I think we should all have a little chat then."

* * *

So the girls 'chat' had went over pretty painfully – more emotionally than physical, due to leaders orders not to harm – as it seemed the Akatsuki knew exactly what questions to ask. Cecil had been the one answering questions this time, and nobody missed the relief that flooded her face every time they asked something she couldn't answer perfectly. Of course, their legitimacy was questioned enough for Destiny to step in and hiss something about 'we haven't lied yet, why would we start now?' before Aaryn calmed her in hurried whispers.

"How do you know so much?" Itachi asked after a moment, and Cecil hesitated.

"We have an unfair advantage." She said slowly, carefully. "We can watch and read things that happen in your universe before they actually happen to you." His eyebrow quirked slightly and Cecil scratched her cheek awkwardly.

Apparently, whatever God had dropped them here, was enraged she revealed that tidbit of information and there was a bright flash from outside. They jumped slightly and Cecil cursed weakly, sensing her mistake as there was a whistle of wind thrashing about.

"Look what you fucking did." Aaryn growled as she shoved the other female, who was trembling a bit before she blinked away her fear.

"Okay, we need to get away from the windows - downstairs in the hall." Her motherly instincts took over and she shooed them, explaining to Itachi they had broken the balance of the natural universe and if he didn't get his friends to follow they could all end up very much dead. It was mostly sarcastic, but sudden tornados don't usually start up out of nothing; she was wondering if there was any truth. Aaryn believed as much from the way she was scowling, though they all huddled up together in the hallway and gripped each other's arms.

"Deep breaths, Cass." Cecil soothed as she brushed down the panicking girls hair, murmuring weak comforts as they Akatsuki joined them with much less panic.

"It's chakra infused. **Maybe it's going to take us back**." Zetsu commented bluntly, leaving the four females to blink in mild surprise.

"Well then hop out there and give it a go; it'll fucking kill us." Aaryn growled as she curled into Destiny, fingers locked together protectively. Cecil glanced to the angry woman to notice there were a few bruises on her face, and tried not to snicker. Now was not the time for satisfaction at her overpowering her friend – now she was supposed to be keeping everyone from dying and falling apart.

"Aaryn, relax—" Before the words fell from her lips the house began to rumble uncomfortably – shaking pictures from the wall and throwing glasses to the floor. Cassie, apparently losing all calm she was capable of, wailed into her older sisters' shoulder in horror. Cecil couldn't even get a word in edgewise before there was another bright flash of light and the floor broke open beneath them.

"Holy shit!" Cecil hissed as the group tumbled into the ground, falling into pitch blackness as the non-ninjas screamed bloody murder. Aaryn and Destiny lost their hold on each other when a flailing Cassie slammed into the tanner woman and went spiraling off on her own. Of course, before they hit the ground the world stopped shaking; the darkness lifted long enough for another bright flash of light.

Cecil caught sight of a familiar orange mask before the wind stopped hissing – throwing them in to absolute silence – and the world went dark again.


	2. Cassie 1

"The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone."

- George Elliot

* * *

CASSIE

* * *

Cassie woke in a less-than-comfortable position, groaning as she realized there was a great deal of pain in her right arm. Carefully, the small girl blinked her big green eyes and sat up slowly; only to wince at the gash on her arm. She realized, rather abruptly, she was on a very large tree limb and felt tears prickle into her eyes. If anyone knew anything about the small blond, it was that she was afraid of heights – and as she gazed downward pitifully, she realized she was at least four stories off the ground.

"Cee-cee!" She wailed her older sisters' nickname into the air desperately, rubbing her eyes with her good hand as she left her right arm limply at her side. Even though she was seventeen years old, she really was more like a child than anything. It was rare the young girl end up on her own, since she usually had her girls with her, but here she was.

The timid female looked down again, catching sight of a group of people that looked vaguely familiar for a moment. Disregarding it, she called down to them: "H-Hey! Help? Please?" Of course, when deep purple eyes landed on her, she felt her jaw threatening to unhinge. The toothy grin only made a shudder travel up her spine as the remaining eyes of the group caught sight of her.

"Holy shit its Taka." Cassie mumbled out weakly as she scuttled backwards against the tree, eyes wide as the realization ate at her.

"Holy _shit_ its _fucking Taka._" She repeated with only the mildest form of terror, yelping as the white-haired male appeared before her on the limb. His grin was much more unnerving in person, she noted as his hand rested lazily on his sword.

"What were you yelling about up here?" Suigetsu sneered and she winced slightly, tugging her knees to her chest.

"I'm stuck." Cassie muttered defensively, face heating despite the obvious danger and she trained her eyes on the limb beneath her.

"Just jump." His voice was incredulous and she bit her lower lip, not meeting his gaze. "I can't, I'll get hurt—" Before she could even finish the statement he grabbed her by her collar and tossed her off the limb, causing her to screech in surprise as she flew towards the ground.

_Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, Oh God—_Cassie, though very ungracefully, landed on her feet long enough to stumbled forward and land face first in the dirt. There was a sharp pain in her ankle, though despite the height she had managed to land otherwise uninjured. Her gaze travelled upward to meet a very bored looking Sasuke and she lurched to her feet – stumbling away from him and his group awkwardly.

"Spy?" Sasukes' attention turned from her to Suigetsu as he landed with much more grace despite his laughter.

"No, just a kitten stuck in the tree." He mocked and her face turned bright pink as she awkwardly shifted off her injured ankle and held her right arm loosely. Apparently catching sight of her injuries, Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"I got hurt when I landed in the tree." Cassie deadpanned, face still tinted pink. "And when I landed down here." The added statement sounded a bit bitterer than intended as she cleared her throat awkwardly. She was glad she changed out of her pajamas – though she suspected she looked just as odd as she had in them with her yoga pants and baggy sweater.

"What is she _wearing_?" Karin finally spoke, eyeing her with a bit of disgust. Cassies' eyebrow twitched a bit in irritation, making the mistake of gripping her arm a bit tighter. Karin was probably her least favorite character in the history of _Naruto_. Her demeanor and cocky attitude just rubbed her the wrong way half the time, and the half she was flirting with Sasuke only made it worse. So Cassie was prompted to reply with a bit of irritation.

"Something that's considered cute where I come from," She snorted, shaking her head a bit. "At least I'm not universally recognized as a whore." Suigetsu only laughed harder, prompting Karin to take a swing at him that splashed through with little effort.

"And where do you come from?" Juugo questioned quietly and Cassie bit her lower lip a bit nervously.

"Uhm. Houston; it's a long story. In summary, I'm from a different universe that has knowledge to yours." She shrugged, not missing Karins' eye roll of disbelief.

"Really?" Though his voice was stoic as ever, she would have guessed Sasuke was amused at her statement. They probably thought she was as crazy as the Akatsuki did; of course this meant she would need to prove her knowledge.

"You're brother responded the same way." Whatever possessed her to say _that _of all things exploded and shriveled away when his glare hit her. Cassie would have cursed, except for the fact it had become eerily quiet and she felt as though she would shatter if that quiet was broken. All four pairs of eyes were on her and she was slowly – painfully, painfully slowly – trying to dissolve into the ground.

"You know Itachi?" Sasuke seemed to get a hold of his intensely hate-filled gaze as she nodded slowly, biting her lower lip. Aaryn was much more knowledgeable about the Akatsukis resident Uchiha, but Cassie was grateful for all those late nights she was squealed at about him suddenly. Apparently this statement was an unspoken order as Suigetsu was suddenly right in her face again with an only slightly maniacal grin; the next thing she knew the world spun uncomfortably – before there was nothing but darkness again.

* * *

Cassie woke the second time feeling much better than the first, though she didn't immediately jerk to attention as she had originally. Not that she wasn't absolutely terrified about her situation, but more along the lines of she was being carried over someones' shoulder. Glancing around silently she noticed they were still in the forest, though it was darker than it had been when she woke the first time - and she was still with Taka (or, Hebi since Sasuke hadn't killed Itachi yet apparently). Her eyes wandered from each members face curiously, noting that they were unusually quieter than she expected from what had read about online, though emerald eyes lingered on Suigetsu with quiet admiration. So maybe he was her favorite - not that she had ever admitted it openly, it was always just known among her friends - but she had never expected him to be this, uhm, attractive.

Her face began to heat uncomfortably as her heart sputtered; she tore her gaze away when he glanced in her direction. Juugo didn't say anything, though she knew he was aware of her being awake from the way he shifted to make the ride a bit less painful for her. Karin and Sasuke probably knew it as well, but they had yet to look her way from their path.

"You guys didn't have to knock me out," Cassie muttered, trying not to look down to avoid wooziness. "I'm about as much a threat as an injured kitten." Juugo looked almost apologetically at her, but remained silent. Suigetsu hopped a bit closer, snickering at her comment with a toothy grin as he eyed the shy female. Her gaze met his bashfully for a moment before she turned her attention away with a bit of a huff. Violet eyes were watching her with unhidden amusement, though everyone else remained just as silent as before.

"We're going to make camp soon." Sasuke broke the silence after a few more minutes of Suigetsu and Cassie casting awkward facial expressions at each other - one smug and one shy respectively. Once he found a spot deemed worthy the group stopped for the evening, each preparing their own spot to sleep as Cassie was gently placed on her feet. It was then she noted the ache in her ankle and arm were gone and examined them curiously. She'd been healed?

"You're welcome." Karin said bluntly and the blond blinked before it dawned on her that Karin was the only medic of the group. "O-Oh, thank you." She muttered as the other woman stalked off to gather firewood upon Sasukes order. The Uchiha turned to her with an empty expression as he leaned against a nearby tree; Cassie refused to meet his gaze as she sat and tugged her knees to her chest.

"What do you know about Itachi?" He spoke suddenly and she glanced up with a sheepish, apologetic smile.

"Just that he was involved in the storm that landed me here. I don't know how they ended up in my world, but they somehow managed to drag me and my friends back with them." Cassie grumbled, scratching her cheek. "I got separated from the others in the fall between worlds; I'm about eighty percent sure I'm as good as dead if he - or any of the Akatsuki, really - find me." This was true. She could only imagine that they would want all four of them dead for the amount of information they had on both the organization and their plans. Especially since Tobi - or, Obito as the girls are all very much aware by now - is the leader and would suspect them knowing as much. It dawned on her that maybe she should have tried to shut Cecil up when she was telling them so much back home.

"What makes you say that?" Suigetsu chirped curiously, though his face held nothing but boredom.

"I know their future - I can alter things." Cassie shrugged as if it was obvious, though all she got was disbelieving stares. "You don't believe me now, of course, but you will later when it comes to pass: Sasuke, you do finally kill Itachi. When the Akatsuki leader finds you and patches you up though, you regret it. He convinces you to join him by manipulating the truth of Itachis past. Just don't put any faith in him - he's as much a snake as Orochimaru." Her voice was matter-of-fact, though she hadn't met their eyes during the little spill.

"I'm also going to say you should have killed Kabuto while you had the chance. He's a massive inconvenience later in life."

"And what makes you think we believe you?" Karin snapped when she joined them, apparently having been listening despite Cassie never noticing her return.

"You don't have to believe me - but Sasuke will about the time him and Deidara fight to the death and Manda gets killed. Either way there isn't a doubt in my mind the Akatsuki want my information and I am more than willing to play hostage for you guys if you wanna go that route. I'm not looking forward to wandering about on my own seeing as I have no way to protect myself."

"So you want us to protect you?" Karin scoffed, apparently taking over the conversation while Sasuke thought.

"Mm, it'd be nice. But I'm fully aware that I have no way to bargain with ya'll. It's pretty much just a leap of faith on your part and me hoping you're all as intelligent as I gave you credit for being." Cassie hummed cheerfully, yelping as Karin gave her a swift kick to the arm. She hissed and gripped the now injured appendage with tears stinging her eyes - why do these people hit so hard? The massive bruise was almost instant as the she rolled up her sleeve, revealing it to have already became a massive purple and discolored yellow color.

This development seemed to surprise the group as Cassie flinched away from it, tentatively running her fingers over it. Tears managed to squeeze their way from the corner of her eyes and she wondered vaguely if there was any fractures in it. More than anything, Karin seemed utterly heartbroken for a split second upon seeing the tears before she shifted into annoyance.

"What the hell?" The red-eyed girl grumbled as she kneeled beside her, hands glowing green. Since she hadn't been awake for the first time Karin preformed this little trick, her eyes were dead set on watching as a warm feeling spread through her body. It felt strange at first - a new feeling tickling at all her senses that made her shudder - before her body adjusted and determined it liked the foreign energy. Her face flushed pink as the bruise slowly melted away, feeling lightheaded as the other woman worked; her body humming with a drunken feeling. By the time Karin finished, Cassie had a dazed look in her eye that could have been mistaken as her having too-much too drink.

"That's really cool." Cassie murmured softly as her eyelids grew heavier, blinking away the pleasurable exhaustion to face the rest of the group.

"We're going to keep her with us for the time being." Sasuke was apparently made uncomfortable when Karin beamed at him, waiting for praise. "Try to avoid hurting her too much - its a waste of energy having to heal someone so weak." And with that he walked back towards his tent, nodding to a slightly dejected Karin who was chattering about bringing him food when it was ready. Juugo was watching her with curious eyes, head cocked to one side to make him resemble a large dog; Cassie giggled a bit in her slightly drunken state.

He seemed confused, but didn't bother saying anything as he started a fire and began cooking what looked like some kind of bird meat. The blond found herself curling into a little ball as she hid her face in her knees and tried to resist sleep, humming softly to herself as she ignored the cold around her. She couldn't help but wonder if Cecil and the others were all together - or if they had at least been close enough to locate each other. Surely they would be able to find each other out here as long as they were all travelling, though if it wasn't just a stroke of luck she ended up with Suigetsu and the others ended up with their respective favorites: Destiny would be fine at least. Cecil and Aaryn would most likely end up together; she would probably catch up to them if Hebi was willing to keep her along.

Overall, she could convince herself it wasn't so bad.

"So what's your name, anyway?" Suigetsu interrupted her inner turmoil and Cassie felt heat rising to her cheeks. "Cassie." She murmured as she lifted her head to meet his purple eyes, pulling her knees tighter to herself.

"Cassie?" He cocked an eyebrow and she turned bright pink. "You have a weird name." He neglected to mention he thought it was actually pretty cute and somehow seemed to fit her bashful demeanor, but the look of utter embarrassment on her face made him chuckle.

"I-It's a nickname. My full name is Kassandra - my mom picked it because my hair was white when I was born and in greek it can roughly translate to 'shinning upon man' or 'to shine'. She thought it was fitting and poof, I'm Cassie." Her rambling earned a bit of a thoughtful expression from the male as he smirked at her, leaned back on his palms as he hummed a bit.

"Maybe you should go by something that doesn't make you stand out like a sore thumb." Suigetsu commented lazily. "Try Haeru. It translates about the same in our language." By 'our' language, it was clear he meant Japanese. Though she had no former insight as to what it meant, she would trust his judgment in picking out an alias - even though she probably shouldn't at all. It was hard to tell if he was trying to be an ass to her or not, but he sounded sincere enough so she gave a go at pronouncing it.

"Haeru?" The uncertain attempt got a snicker from him, though he nodded a bit. "Yeah, it's better than 'Cassie'. That just sounds like gibberish around here." He waved a hand and she couldn't help but grin a bit to herself. Her inner fangirl had kicked in enough that her heart was fluttering from the conversation; she tried not to let her excitement show.

They were silently interrupted by Juugo offering up food to them, and Cassie blinked at it a bit nervously. At least it wasn't chop sticks - God have mercy on her when she would have to eat with chop sticks. She did her best to ignore their curious gaze as she nibbled at the meal awkwardly, happy to find it wasn't disgusting and inedible as she had secretly feared.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

* Haeru: 'to shine' ; 'look pretty' ; 'look attractive' ; 'to cut'


	3. Destiny 1

"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open."

- John Barrymore

* * *

DESTINY

* * *

The tan female found herself dropped onto the floor in a fairly familiar place – if only one she had seen on television and in manga – which she failed to recognize from the way she landed. Her head smacked into the ground and she groaned, feeling her vision begin to tunnel as she listened to shouts she couldn't make out. Her head lulled to one side as the world screamed in ringing, blinking away her daze as best she could before her eyes caught sight of purple war paint and she furrowed her brow.

"Wha-?" Destinys voice slurred slightly as the words cut off in her throat; her vision cleared long enough to reveal her least favorite of the Sand Siblings and shock overwhelmed her senses. Of course, when she realized who it was she was seeing, brown eyes wandered the rest of the room meekly to find that, indeed, she had landed right in the middle of the meeting room. Whoops.

_What a terrible first impression._ She thought bitterly before trying to sit up, ignoring her nausea to feel the back of her bleeding head and scowling. Of course she would be gushing blood from the back of her head – of course she would. Destiny fell backwards as a bright flash of something shiny soared towards her, prompting more muffled shouts and noises.

"I'm friendly." She managed to choke out as the world came back into focus, though she was now sporting a massive headache. "Not a danger; equally alarmed and confused." The words prompted a response from Ebzio, who she was able to recognize only when he came to stand over her curiously.

"She's no threat." He commented and she found herself grinning slightly. "Welcome, Shinjitsu." He offered cheerfully and her eyebrow cocked slightly in confusion.

"Shinjitsu?" Destinys eyes managed to sway from the elderly man to the speaker – Gaara.

"Yes, Shinjitsu - Guarders of Truth. Before we continue on with this conversation, though, I think we should tend to her wounds. They aren't as durable as we shinobi, if I remember correctly." Ebizo hummed as Destiny stumbled weakly to her feet, ignoring the glares she was getting from the other members of the room.

"Come, come." He gestured for her to follow and she blinked a few times before stumbling after him with obvious confusion – much to Kankuros irritation as he followed after them voicing his disagreement. Honestly, had she not been suffering from blood loss, the whole thing would have been comical. Ebizo led her through the maze-like building to where Kankuro had been during the time he was poisoned and she paused to enjoy the moment. The nurses that were there were apparently surprised before the situation was explained and they sat her down on the bed to be checked out.

"Err, how did I get here?" Destiny asked the wise old man, who chuckled a bit at her question before shrugging a bit.

"The Shinjitsu I met years ago said that you end up in the presence of your most beloved person when you fall through the worlds. I assume your presence means something must be amiss in our world that shouldn't be, correct?" At her blank expression he frowned a bit. "You don't know?"

"I have no idea what's going on." Destiny admitted, wincing as one of the nurses began wrapping her head tightly.

"Mm, this could pose a problem. Shinjitsu are brought into the different worlds to restore balance; usually it means that another Shinjitsu was summoned by someone trying to gain unfair advantage on the future of the universe."

"Theres four of us." Destiny said abruptly, blinking rapidly as things clicked together for her. "The Akatsuki somehow ended up in our home – in our universe – and when they forced us to tell them things about your world a storm brought us here."

"Ah." The response was short and sweet as he examined her curiously; ignoring the confused and even-more irritated Kankuro.

"What did you tell them?" His voice was dark as the young man turned to face her and she blinked in surprise.

"I didn't tell them anything – my friend Cecil told them. I imagine I ended up in your care because I favor Gaara over everyone else." Ebizo nodded silently, thinking. The nurses and Kankuro bristled at her casual use of his name and her face flushed pink; a sharp tug on the wrapping of her head made her dizzy.

"Rest; I will speak with Lord Kazekage about your arrival." With that, the old man exited the room and left her alone with the irked puppeteer. His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously and she found herself glaring back before she considered the consequences.

"Whats your name, _Shinjitsu_?"

"Destiny."

He gave her a blank stare before nodding slowly, though his scowl never wavered. "I'm Kankuro." He said after a moment and she nodded knowingly. At least he had the courtesy to introduce himself to her – maybe things wouldn't end up so terrible after all.

"Go by Tenmei, Shinjitsu. We don't want word of you getting outside this building for the moment; your name draws unnecessary attention." She wanted to throw something at the back of his head when he spoke, but do to lack of ammunition she just huffed and let herself be laid on the table. She was pretty sure she had a concussion – not that it mattered to anyone around here – and was debating her possible death when sleep finally claimed her exhausted form.

* * *

By the time she was roused from her sleep, it was for the sake of letting her wash the blood from her hair. The nurses led her to a shower with the promise of retrieving her less 'odd' clothing. She just snorted and stepped into the already warm shower, where she found herself sighing in relief. The blood was easy enough to get out despite the obnoxious stinging she felt upon applying soap; wincing a bit as she made sure to scrub it all out. The wound was closed, they had informed her, but the area was going to be sensitive as if it weren't until it had the time to heal on its own. Apparently there's an unspoken rule about not completely healing head wounds that she had never noticed before.

Once she was sufficiently clean - and was informed of her new clothes - she dried herself before awkwardly assembling the outfit. Looking in the mirror she looked over herself, turning a little pink as she tugged at her black shorts. They were covered by a split, red long-skirt that had a kimono style top and a thin black sash she tied on her hip. Turning slightly she saw Sunas' symbol and smirked to herself, wondering whose clothes she had been loaned that fit so perfectly. Pulling on her black sandals she towel dried her hair as she exited the bathroom, only to come face-to-face with the Sand Siblings and Ebizo. Gaara was eyeing her with his usual blank expression, though she could see the faint hints of curiosity in his beautiful, beautiful eyes.

"Shinjitsu," Ebizo spoke cheerfully and she wanted to scowl.

"Just call me Destiny," Glancing at Kankuro she added quietly: "Or Tenmei, as suggested by Mr. Puppeteer here." His eyebrow twitched and she resisted the urge to giggle, though Temari did grin in response to the joke.

"Well, Destiny, Lord Kazakage has agreed to let you stay here in Suna due to the meaning of your arrival." Destiny felt her face heating as he spoke, though she tried to pretend she was as cool as her crush. She was secretly hoping he had left out the bit of 'they appear where their most beloved person is' that he had told her and Kankuro - who was apparently sensing her discomfort by the way he smirked at her.

"Thank you." The words earned a nod from the red-haired male and she smiled a bit, wrapping her shoulder-length hair up in the towel.

"Do you know where your friends may be?" Gaara speaking directly to her made her flustered as she thought, biting her lower lip a bit nervously. "If we appear like Ebizo says, then I have an idea. Try not to judge them too harshly; you have to remember we see almost every aspect of peoples lives and it can sway us to liking someone despite their fairly, uhm, obvious or dangerous faults." The words set everyone on edge and she silently cursed herself for trying to save her friends skin. Why couldn't they just like the good guys? Life would have been so much easier.

"Two of them would have ended up with Akatsuki," She spoke carefully, not missing the narrowing of the trios eyes. "The other is with Suigetsu Hozuki - who is travelling with Sasuke Uchiha. Or, will be, if he isn't already." Her brow furrowed slightly, not being able to remember quite when Hebi joined forces; being mildly frustrated. She was just hoping that Cassie was okay with her chosen comrades - after all, Suigetsu wasn't known for being very gentle.

"I don't worry about the two in the Akatsuki - but I need to find the third. She's not very..." Destiny trailed off, trying to think of the right words. "She can be easily swayed to tell them things she shouldn't. Cassie's softer than the rest of us." This earned a nod from her elderly friend, though the other three just glanced to each other in silent conversation. If she knew them like she believed she did - and she liked to think she was a Suna know-it-all - they would probably inform Konoha of this development for the sake of protecting their allies.

"Of course, there's always a chance one of them ended up in Konoha." She added, pushing them in that direction a bit gently. "She's known for her moral compass, and as much as she likes certain people within the Akatsuki she may have ended up with Naruto or otherwise." This was true - Aaryn loved her Jashinist maniac, but she loved him because he was morally right in his beliefs. And even her love of Itachi stemmed from knowing the truth as to why he killed his clan; she was always after those who were morally stable. Often times, she had shown equal love of characters like Lee, Naruto, and Kiba.

"We'll contact Konoha and see if your friend is there." Gaara said after a moment, eyes still trained on her. "It will take a few days; we'll let you know if she's there." With that, the Kazekage excused himself by prompting of Kankuro - who was talking about another meeting before dinner or something that Destiny tuned out in order to train her eyes on Temari.

"We have more questions for you, but Ebizo insists we let you rest - so tomorrow you'll probably have to speak with Lord Kazekage again. For now, though, I can lead you to your room." She was a bit sheepish about the situation, so Destiny returned the awkward smile with one of her own.

"Thanks, I'm sorry to inconvenience y'all like this. Thank you, Ebizo, for all your help." She added to the elderly male who smiled in response.

"Chiyo would have loved to see another of your kind." This made her happy thoughts pause as she considered the old woman she had cheered on from the safety of her own world. Of course she realized the elder woman had passed and frowned slightly, biting her lower lip. Before she was torn from this world, she wanted to visit her grave; thank her for her sacrifice. After all, Gaara wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for her. This new resolve in mind, she followed Temari without another word.

Temari didn't feel the need to break through her thoughts as they walked down the hall, Destiny chasing after her with new-found speed. It wasn't too far before they stopped in front of a door and her blond friend opened it to reveal another hall. She blinked in mild confusion before following her into the secluded hallway, where Temari gesture to three different doors.

"My room is across from Kankuros, Gaaras is straight down the hall. Yours is here." With those words she opened a door to the left and gestured inside. It wasn't much, but it was a bed and a place to draw, which was good enough for the smaller female as she smiled gratefully.

"Thank you." Destiny was saying that a lot today, it appeared.

* * *

* Shinjitsu: 'Faithfulness' ; 'Honesty' ; 'Reality' ; 'Sincerity' ; 'Truth'

* Tenmei: 'Dawn' ; 'Daybreak' ; 'Destiny' ; 'Karma'


	4. Aaryn 1

So this one is waaaaaaaay shorter than the others, but that's because Aaryn isn't very important at the moment. Her chapters will grow in length when she becomes more involved with the actual storyline. Frankly, she was only intended to be a minor character used for some much needed comic relief [everyone feel bad for Cecil, she's getting all the hardships of this adventure! Or maybe it'll be Cassie. HMM.] and I'm surprised she started digging up her own part of the story.

ANYWAY, read, review, etc.

- Razz

* * *

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

* * *

AARYN

* * *

Red-head was lucky not to take any serious damage when she landed – though upon landing she was almost dropped into a crater of Sakuras making at Team 7 training grounds. It was by Kakashis quick eyes that she successfully missed danger; she felt a bit guilty for interrupting their training.

"I'm so fucking sorry!" Aaryn yelped as they landed a few feet away, joined by a curious Sakura and Naruto. "Oh thank God I didn't end up with those fuckers." She breathed a sigh of relief as Kakashi sat her down, placing a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her pounding heart. Unfortunately, her hair was still tied back; upon seeing her tattoo Kakashi did the most rational thing.

He poked it.

Aaryns eyebrow twitched for a second before she remembered the mark and winced, wondering how far along they were in the storyline. If they already encountered Hidan she was massively fucked over no matter what she said – especially if Shikamaru caught wind of it. Oh God, she was suddenly regretting her taste in fashion.

"I come in peace." She muttered as she tugged the band from her hair, letting her hair cover the mistake as she glanced over her shoulder with a bit of an apologetic frown. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked around worriedly, biting down on her lower lip.

"I'm sorry about that." Sakura said sheepishly and Aaryn waved a hand, grinning herself. "Nah, I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Sorry." Her blue eyes shined with well-hidden delight at the situation as she looked around with a wistful grin.

"I don't suppose y'all would know how I got here? I fell through this huge hole in my house and ended up here." Excluding the Akatsuki was in her best interest, she was aware. She was vulgar and impulsive, but not stupid.

"Sounds like you already know how you got here!" Naruto grinned and she gave him a blank stare, scoffing a bit.

"I meant what caused it." Her brows furrowed worriedly, sighing. "My friends fell in too. I guess we all ended up scattered." She mused as she scratched her head awkwardly. This really wasn't good that they had been sucked into a realm beyond their abilities – much less all being scattered throughout this damn place. Sakura was the only one legitimately interested in assisting her as she gave her a worried frown.

"Well, what's youre name?" The pinkette asked slowly, eyeing her with some doubt. "Ah, I'm Aaryn! Nice to meet you guys." The other woman grinned, chuckling a bit as she got a nod in response. This really was a pretty awkward situation, if the small female let herself think about it too long. After all, she was caught in a rock and a hard place with her friends being scattered throughout the _Naruto _world; she herself was at a loss of how to handle this whole thing. Honestly, she was waiting on some divine intervention or something to save her from this nightmare.

Wait.

_Maybe I'm dreaming._

"We should probably go see the Hokage." Kakashi commented lazily, nose stuck back in his book as he leaned against a nearby post. How were they all so seemingly calm about a random female dropping from the sky? It was as if she was part of the gang or something.

"Right. I'm sure Granny Tsunade could help you." Naruto spoke cheerfully as he patted her on the back, earning a yelp of surprise as the red-haired woman thought.

"Uh.. that works?" The words were slow and careful, feeling almost giddy at the chance to meet the Legend in person. Aaryn had often found herself idolizing the busty woman, despite the obvious alcoholic tendencies among other faults; she really hoped everyone else was in a similarly joyous situation as the trio – shortly a duo upon Kakashi announcing he would be going on ahead – welcomed her with open arms. It was nice to get along with people she had only every dreamed of meeting.

"I'm sorry you guys have to walk because of me." Aaryn spoke after a moment, rubbing her head sheepishly.

"It's not a problem at all; we usually don't waste the chakra. Kakashi-sensei is just an exception to the rule." Sakura giggled, smiling warmly.

"More like he just likes to show off." Naruto snorted, earning a bemused glance from his pink-haired companion. It was comfortably quiet as they walked along, not taking too-terribly long to reach the giant building that was the Hokages place of work – and an even shorter time before they had the newcomer standing in front of their leader. Of course, when Aaryn was struck with a bad case of "oh God, she's so awesome" syndrome, Sakura decided to fill in on her behalf. Once the summarized problem was set out before the older woman, there was a long, thoughtful silence.

"I'll look into it." With that, Aaryn was dismissed into the hallway and pretty much left to her own devices. It occurred to her that she should probably have mentioned being from another universe entirely; that the elder woman probably didn't pick up those subtle hints by just her choice of clothing.

**_Mm, don't worry too much about it._**

The second, very male voice made her tense and glance around the room curiously. The deep voice chuckled at her confusion, humming pleasurably. There was a tingling feeling spreading over her body and she breathed in sharply as she began to feel light-headed.

**_Relax, little gatekeeper, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm actually here to _****help****_ you._**

He was practically purring to her, and though she felt as if someone was just inches away from her, there was no one within earshot. Her panic only seemed to increase as she realized she couldn't form a coherent question; that the little voice in her head had apparently gone mute and left her to toss around images rather than think.

**_We'll talk more later. _**He soothed before the "presence" was gone – leaving her feeling awfully empty despite everything – and she fell back against the wall with narrowed eyes. The back of her neck began to sting and a slight hiss was elicited from her throat as she itched at her tattoo irritably. It never occurred to her that the symbol would become a means of communication between herself and her less-than-secretly admired deity; she never noticed the twinges of red that had outlined the black ink as she was rejoined by her new friends.

"Hey, you okay?" Narutos' eyebrows furrowed worriedly, he leaned down into her bubble and she blinked out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry, what's up?" He grinned when she responded, backing up to give her some room. "Granny Tsunade says you should crash with one of us for a while until we get this business sorted out." He chimed and Sakura shook her head, before smiling apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I would let you stay with me but my parents tend to be a bit strict..." She trailed off and Aaryn smiled knowingly in response, chuckling softly.

"Nah, don't worry about it."

"You can stay with me!" Narutos' grin grew and a faint pink dusted the girls cheeks. "Uh, thanks, I appreciate it." There wasn't much else to their conversation as she was dragged off with the male, waving a rushed goodbye to her newfound friends as Naruto babbled about getting ramen for dinner. So maybe things wouldn't be so bad as long as she stuck with Team 7, she decided with a smile.

After all, what could be better than befriending the main character?


	5. Cecil 1

"There is no passion so contagious as that of fear."

- Michel de Montaigne

* * *

Cecil

* * *

Cecil groaned as she hit the ground; eyes scanning the trees above her with a sigh. Great. Sitting up cautiously she examined her surroundings with narrowed eyes, frowning to herself. Tobi had grabbed her during the fall, but she wasn't quite sure where he had ended up – which made her nervous. Not that running around with S-Class criminals was anything to shake a stick at either, but at least in their world no one _knew _they were doing that. Pale fingers brushed through her hair nervously as she chewed her lower lip and stood, humming softly to herself. The trees were unusually large, but they were familiar none-the-less, and that made her wince knowingly.

_Of course._

"Cecil-chaaaan!" Tobi chirped as he tackled her back to the ground cheerfully, earning a yelp as they tumbled over. The masked man sat on her happily, practically radiating joy as he cocked his head to one side thoughtfully.

"H-Hey, Tobi. Where are we?" Playing dumb seemed like the best course of option given the situation; she didn't need the man currently pinning her to the ground to know she knew anything about him. In fact, she would really rather just close her eyes and wake up back home where everything was safe and sound. Yeah, that sounded like a really good idea.

"We're back home!" He hummed as he hopped off her and tugged her to her feet, skipping along as she pathetically tried to pry her hand away. There was a sharp pain in her head and she hissed quietly, using her free hand to examine the pain with a bit of hesitance. Sure enough, there was a warm liquid oozing from the back of her head; she looked at the now blood-covered appendage with a steadily paling face.

"Tobi." Cecil said seriously as she came to a stop, eyes wide as she tore her gaze away from the blood. The male paused and looked at her curiously – which was actually really good, despite her pale skin tone and horrified expression – and caught her hurriedly when she promptly passed out.

* * *

Cecil woke with a start, more than horrified when she realized she was laying in a pile beside her friends in her living room floor. Not that she preferred hanging around in the Naru-verse any better, but she was supposed to be there, right?

"What the fuck?" She squeaked as she glanced around them, eyes wide. Feeling an odd weight against her forehead she reached her hand up slowly to find bandages and gasped, tensing. Okay, so maybe she was between worlds? That was possible, right? Cecil turned to the first companion she could touch and shook them violently, breathing a sigh of relief when Cassie woke up appearing equally startled.

"Wh-What?" She stuttered as she looked around, apparently just as confused as her older sister.

"I had a weird dream where we fell into a pit and ended up in the Naruto world – except I landed with Tobi and hit my head on a rock; now there are bandages around my head. Did I do something in my sleep?" Cassie listened and steadily grew paler, shaking her head.

"I-I don't know. I landed with Hebi in some forest and Karin healed me before they decided to take me as bait for Itachi. I told them about what happened and everything, but I don't know if they believed me, you know?" Cecil nodded slowly, chewing her lower lip. Okay, so they needed a plan then – because waking up with a headache from Hell and bandaged up was enough to confirm that she had indeed been between worlds somehow; Cassies own story just seemed to solidify the idea.

"Wake up Destiny and Aaryn, I'm going to find some notebooks and pens. I don't know how this is happening, but we need to see if they had the same dream as us before we do anything else—"

_"Cecil-chan!" _Tobis voice rang in her head as the world threatened to spin out of control, earning a soft groan as the woman put a hand on her head. Stumbling up the stairs, she tried to ignore the mans voice and dug out her school supplies; tossing it down the stairs to Cassie before following suit shakily.

_"Wake up, Cecil-chan!" _He chirped as her vision began to tunnel and she fished out some pens before tossing a book to each girl.

"Write down your dreams in detail – conversations, locations, everything you can think of. We're going to see if we can find each other." She ordered as the two sleepier females blinked to the waking world before wearing a similar expression of surprise.

"What happened to your tattoo, Aaryn?" Cassie asked as Cecil tried to stop the steadily rotating world, putting her head in her hands. "It's got a red outline now!"

"What?"

Cecil found darkness again quickly.

* * *

"Cecil-chan!" Tobi clapped joyfully as the smaller female groaned awake, blinking away her sleepiness and looking around. They had somehow ended up at an inn, it appeared; she curled up into the warmth of the blankets with a small huff of frustration.

"Thank you, Tobi." She said quietly as she sighed to herself, trying to force sleep to take her under before a deeper voice surprised her.

"So how much do you know, Cecil?" The voice itself didn't shock her, but the fact she had been called out so quickly made her shudder. To be honest, she had always found Obito an interesting character; he was probably one of her favorites just because she enjoyed watching him. He was a graceful person, whether he realized it or not, and his evil-doing broke her heart because he was trying to do a good thing and going about it the wrong way.

"Enough to know Kabuto Yakushi is going to backstab you; don't join forces with him." She stated quietly, which was only a mild exaggeration. Kabuto did technically give away that Tobi wasn't Madara, after all. That was one of Tobis main defenses – nobody with any kind of sanity wanted to fight Madara Uchiha. She realized she could probably bend the truth just enough to alter their reality into one less foreboding if she tried hard enough.

"Why would I join forces with Kabuto?" He asked, sounding amused as she shifted uncomfortably and sat up. Cecil was careful not to meet his gaze; instead focused her eyes on her hands.

"He uses Impure World Reincarnation to threaten to reveal your identity." She said, carefully trying to find a way to keep him from snapping with the new information. "And he offers to supply you with reincarnated Akatsuki – and a few others that all ultimately fail – in exchange for Sasuke. In the story, you refuse until he blackmails you."

Obito hummed in acknowledgement, apparently thoughtful as he leaned back on his palms; sitting on the bed directly beside hers. Cecil let her eyes wander to meet his and winced slightly when she saw the Sharingan was very much activated.

"I suppose you're going to try and blackmail me first?" He spoke and she blinked, before grinning a bit ruefully.

"There'd be no point. You'd just kill me." Cecil snorted, earning a dark chuckle from her companion.

"Why don't I just kill him then?"

"I honestly can't remember, but I thought the same thing." She murmured, laying down again as she closed her eyes with a sigh. Of course she would end up with one of the badass characters who would feel nothing by killing her. Of course she would. The small woman was mostly just hoping her housemates were doing better than herself; particularly Cassie, since she was with one of the four murderous Uchiha men available in this universe. It was unnerving to consider that she was all alone with dangerous criminals like those – and she was really hoping Destiny and Aaryn had ended up in one of the shinobi villages and was safe.

"I want to help you," Cecil stated suddenly, chewing her lower lip as she thought about her course of action. As long as she was helping Tobi with his evil-doing, she could report it back to the girls and hopefully they could give those in danger a heads up. Together, they could change the course of fate and save a few lives in the process. Of course, her own life was currently in grave danger as well, considering the man she was sharing a room with could cut her throat and be done with her in no time at all. "I don't want to be left alone to fend for myself in this universe. I'll help you if you keep me with you."

It was the first excuse she could come up with, but it seemed to do the trick. "Who said I was planning on letting you go?"

"I assumed you would just kill me, actually. I was just trying to avoid giving you the idea."

"Ah." He didn't have to confirm that was indeed what he had intended – she wasn't a complete imbecile when it came to things like that. The prey was more seldom unaware of the predator. He never gave her an answer before she managed to drift back to sleep; she was more than grateful when she found herself back in the living room with her friends bickering about things.

"Guys, status report." They gave her funny looks but complied.

"I landed in the Leaf Village and am currently staying with Naruto. I haven't given them any information on what I know." Aaryn hummed, grinning at her friend deviously. "Me and Destiny might end up together soon though – the Sand Village is apparently contacting the Leaf."

"I landed in Sand, obviously. They apparently have some idea of what's going on and why we ended up there, but I haven't gotten to finish asking questions. Ebizo says we were summoned by someone; we're called 'Shinjitsu' there. Shinjitsu always appear with their most beloved person."

"I don't exactly love Tobi." Cecil seethed quietly, earning a knowing giggle from Cassie. "It's because he grabbed you or something in the fall, I bet." The elder of the sisters nodded in confirmation, remembering the flash of light that revealed the orange mask as they tumbled into the other universe. They scribbled down this information before taking off to Cecils room and glaring at the broken door; Aaryn snickering about how they could never doubt the Akatsuki had been with them for a short moment of time before they were all shoved into her study instead.

"Okay, we're going to meet back here every night." She said stiffly, frowning a bit to herself. "God, I'm so glad I'm on vacation." Aaryn visibly paled, eyes widening slightly.

"I'm not, damnit!" She hissed, crossing her arms with a huff. "Call in and tell them you're sick with swine flu or something." Destiny snickered as the other female cocked an eyebrow before texting her boss. It was no secret the red-head was kinda-sorta seeing the man, but it was funny to watch her face twist in irritation. They each chose a different spot in the room for their newest experiment, each scribbling away to keep the information organized before Cecil pulled out a marker and began writing on the white board with a sigh.

"Okay, warnings go here." She gestured to it and received nods all around. "And so do updates that everyone should know about. Like if Ebizo gives us anymore information on the Shinjitsu, or Destiny and Aaryn both wind up in the same villages – or at least in conact. We'll all try to find each other there, of course, but this gives us a bit of advantage." Cecil grinned at them ruefully.

"I'm going to stay with Obito—"

"What the fuck?! No!"

"—so that I can give you heads up on any attacks or otherwise."

Aaryn loudly protested this idea – because Obito had no morals and was likely to kill her when she became useless – but Destiny was supportive. It was a sound plan, she claimed, only to be sent a glare from Cassie. Needless to say, it was a massive mess of arguing until Aaryn passed out – Cassie following behind suddenly before Destiny gave her a quiet goodbye and following after.

_"Cecil-chan, if you want me to keep you, you need to wake up soon."_ Obitos voice mocked from the shadows of her mind, earning a slight smile. Cecil hoped she wasn't making a mistake as she laid down in her corner and let the darkness claim her again.


End file.
